Ladies&#39; seamless stocking



March 8, 1966 O. R. YORK ET AL LADIES SEAMLESS STOCKING Filed Jan. 5,1955 'Il Il INVENTORS'. @am 12. YORK ana JOSEPH GAA/552,12

United States Patent() 3,238,748 LADIES SEAMLESS STOCKING Orin R. Yorkand Joseph G. Walser, Jr., High Point, N.C., assignors to MorpulResearch Corporation, Greensboro, N.C.

Filed Jan. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 249,219 Claims. (Cl. 66--178) Thisinvention relates to ladies stockings and more particularly to ladiesstockings in which the upper portion of the leg is provide-d with areashaving different longitudinal elongation characteristics to relievelongitudinal stresses to which the stocking may be subjected uponflexure of the knee of the wearer.

Ladies stockings normally have the same overall length in the front andrear of the leg so that when the stocking is gartered no compensation inthe fabric is provided for additional stretching lof the fabric in theknee section. When a wearers knee is flexed, such as in stooping,sitting or bending, substantially more stress is placed on the front ofthe leg of the stocking than at the rear thereof. This stress frequentlytends to produce runs or other defects originating in the garter area orin other sections of the stocking as well as restricting circulation inthe wearers leg.

Therefore, it is an objective of this invention to provide ladiesstocking having selected areas inthe upper portion of the leg forpermitting absorption of the additional stresses to which the stockingmay be subjected during flexure of the knee.

Another objective of this invention is to provide a ladies sheerstocking in which the upper portion of the leg is provided with acontrast of stitches that is formed during the knitting of the stockingwhereby elongation of the stocking is different in particular areas forthe same longitudinal stresses.

A further objective of this invention is to provide a ladies stockingwith an area in the upper rear portion of the leg having stitches thatrestrict longitudinal elongation and permit increased elongation in thefront portion of the leg.

Other objectives and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill become more readily apparent to those skilled in the knitting artfrom the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing in which like characters of reference designatecorresponding parts throughout the several Views, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a seamless stocking presenting apreferred embodiment of this invention in the afterwelt of the stocking;

FIGURE 2 is a partial elevational view of the upper rear portion of thestocking shown in FIGURE 1 illustrating the area in which there is acontrast of stitches for restricting the longitudinal elongation of thefabric; and

FIGURE 3 is a greatly enlarged illustration of the knitted fabriccontained in the rear portion of the afterwelt portion and enclosed bythe dotted line rectangle indicated by the reference character 3 inFIGURE 1.

Referring to the drawing and particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2, there isshown a ladies seamless stocking knit on a conventional circularknitting machine in which either prin or processed nylon yarn is knit toform the foot and leg 11. The upper portion of the leg 11 in- 3,238,748Patented Mar. 8, 1966 cludes afterwelt 12 and welt 13 portions.Reinforced toe 14 and -heel 15 portions may be provided by introducing amultilament nylon yarn together with the conventional monolilament nylonyarn employed in the knitting of the foot 10 and leg portion 11. Theknitting of the foot 10, the portion of the leg 11 up the afterwelt 12,and the welt 13 is conventional.

The present invention relates primarily to the knitting of the afterweltportion 12 wherein the preferred embodiment of this invention isincorporated by knitting t-he courses so as to include one end ofmonoilament yarn and one end of multifilament yarn throughout theafterwelt portion 12 but with the rear portion 16 of the afterwelt beingprovided with oat and tuck stitches that are provided to limitlongitudinal elongation and elasticity at the rear of the stocking andwith the front portion 17 being provided with plain stitches knit -ofboth the monofilament and multilament nylon yarns so as to producegreater elasticity and longitudinal elongation.

The welt 13 of the stocking may be of the conventional turned weltconstruction in which all of the courses are knit with multilament nylonyarn to provide t-he requisite coursewise and walewise elasticity andgartering strength.

lt is desirable in knitting the relatively inelastic fabric in the rearafterwelt portion 16 to provide one of several different well-knowntypes of stretch resisting special stitch constructions, one of which isillustrated in FIG- URE 3. The special stitch construction shown in FIG-URE 3 is a modification of the stitch construction shown in LochheadPatent No. 2,100,861, however, other knitted constructions forrestricting longitudinal and transverse electricity may be employed suchas the knitted construction shown in Katzenmoyer Patent No. 2,000,176and Nebel Patent No. 2,014,026.

The knitted fabric shown in FIGURE 3 incorporates the use of twoseparate yarns, yarn 19 which may be of a 40 denier multifilarnent nylonyarn, and yarn 20 which may be a 15 denier monolilament nylon yarn, eachof which is fed to the knitting instrumentalities from separate yarnfeed fingers. Both yarns 19 and 20 are fed to the knittinginstrumentalities in the front portion 17 of the afterwelt 12 so as tobe knit together in plated relationship to provide plain stitch loops inevery wale, such as shown in the wales 21 of FIGURE 3. The final fabricproduced in the forward portion 17 of the stocking is substantiallyelastic longitudinally and transversely so that, when the stocking issuitably gartered in the welt portion 13, the front portion 17 of theafterwelt 12 will be permitted to extend longitudinally as the wearersleg is bent to increase the stress on the fabric at the knee.

In order to provide an area of restricted longitudinal and transverseelasticity, at least a portion at the rear of the afterwelt 12 is formedwith a series of tuck stitches, broadly indicated at 23 and in wales 24of FIGURE 3. Each tuck stitch 23 includes a held loop h extending acrossthree courses and formed of both yarns 19 and 20; floats f formed in thelast two yof these courses; and tuck loops t in the last two of thesecourses. The tuck loops t are preferably formed with the monolament yarn20 and the floats are formed with the multilament yarn 19, as shown inFIGURE 3.

It will be readily apparent that the single plain course 29, which isformed between the courses containing the tuck stitches 23, serves as aclearing course. The stretch restricting tuck stitches 23 may bearranged in any desired pattern in the rear portion 16 of the afterwelt12. It is perferred that the rear portion 16 include substantially halfthe wales in the courses of the afterwelt 12 and that the number of tuckstitches formed in successive courses be gradually reduced and thenincreased to provide curved juncture lines 32 (FIGURES 1 and 2) whichdenote the joining together of the rear and front portions 16, 17 atopposite sides of the afterwelt 12.

It has been determined that the fabric produced in the rear area 16 notonly restricts longitudinal elongation and elasticity by reason of theheld loops h and tuck loops t but also lateral or transverse elasticityby reason of the floats f.

It will be readily apparent that the knitting of the courses in theafterwelt portion 12 (with the pattern of stretch restricting stitchesin the wales in the rear area 16 and the relatively elastic plainstitches in the wales in the front area 17) will commence immediatelysucceeding the knitting of the turned welt portion 13 which is usuallyknit from multitilament nylon yarn. The multilament nylon yarn employedin the courses of the afterwelt portion 12 is preferably the same yarnemployed in knitting the welt portion, but the single end ofmonofilament yarn 20 is introduced at the beginning of the afterwelt 12and may continue to be knit throughout the leg and foot portion of thestocking after :the completion of the knitting of lthe afterwelt portion12, at which time the multililament yarn is removed from the knittinginstrumentalities.

When the stocking is removed from the knitting machine, and subsequentto preliminary boarding processes, the toe closure may either be loopedclosed or sewn closed. The final processing is performed in the boardingoperation wherein the stocking is drawn over a conventional boardingform and subjected to a boarding temperature of `approximately 240 to265 degrees F. After boarding, the afterwelt is slightly longer at themiddle of the front area 17 than the length at the middle of the reararea 16. This elongation of the front area 17 is caused by the walewisestretching of the plain stitch loops in this area as the stocking isdrawn down on the boarding form and set, while walewise stretching ofthe rear area 16 is limited by the stretch restricting stitches formedtherein.

It will be readily apparent that the desired result may be obtained on amulti-feed machine by knitting stitches with restricted elasticity inselected wales and at selected knitting stations, and by using eithermonoiilament or multifilament yarns, or a combination of both. Also, ona multi-feed machine elongation of the rear portion of the afterwelt maybe restricted by knitting a full course on all needles at selectedknitting stations while knitting stretch restricting stitches in certainWales of the rear portion of the afterwelt and forming plain stitches inall of the wales of the front portion of the afterwelt. Other variationsand modifications may be made to the knitted fabric for the purpose ofrestricting the elasticity of the fabric in the rear portion of thestocking, Without departing from the invention, as defined in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A hosiery article including foot and leg portions, said leg portionhaving an upper portion adapted to extend above the knee of the wearer,a plurality of complete courses in the upper portion of said legportion, said complete courses having plain stitches formed in all of afirst group of Wales extending around the front of said leg portion toimpart a certain degree of stretchability to the upper front portion ofthe leg portion, and said complete courses having closely spaced stretchrestricting special stitches formed in selected wales and forming aregularly recurring pattern construction in a second group of walesextending throughout the rear of said leg portion, said patternconstruction constrasting with the plain fabric around the front portionand imparting a substantially lesser degree of stretchability to theupper rear portion of the leg portion in a walewise direction.

2. A ladies seamless stocking comprising foot and leg portions, said legportion including a turned welt and an afterwelt having a plurality ofcomplete courses, said afterwelt having a first group of wales extendingaround the front portion and a second group of wales extending aroundthe rear portion, plain stitches formed in all of said first group ofWales extending around the front portion of said afterwelt to impartnormal stretchability thereto, and closely spaced stretch restrictingspecial stitches formed in at least every third wale of said secondgroup of wales and forming a regularly recurring pattern constructionextending throughout the rear portion of said afterwelt, said patternconstruction contrasting with the plain fabric around the front portionof said afterwelt and imparting a substantially lesser degree ofstretchability thereto in a walewise direction.

3. A ladies seamless stocking comprising foot and leg portions, said legportion including a turned welt and an afterwelt having a plurality ofcomplete courses, said afterwelt having a first group of wales extendingaround the front portion and a second group of wales extending aroundthe rear portion, plain stitches formed in all of said first group ofWales extending around the front portion of said afterwelt of impartnormal stretchability thereto, and closely spaced tuck stitches formedin at least every fourth course and in said second group of walesextending throughout the rear portion of said afterwelt to impart asubstantially lesser degree of stretchability thereto.

4. A ladies seamless stocking comprising foot and leg portions, said legportion including a turned welt and an afterwelt having a plurality ofcomplete courses, each of said courses being formed of two yarns, saidafterwelt having a first group of wales extending around the frontportion and a second group of wales extending around the rear portion,plain stitches formed Of both of said yarns and in all of said firstgroup of Wales extending around the front portion of said afterwelt toimpart normal stretchability thereto, and closely spaced stretchrestricting special stitches formed of both of said yarns and in certainof said second group of wales and forming a regularly recurring patternconstruction extending throughout the rear portion of said afterwelt,said pattern construction contrasting with the plain fabric around thefront portion of said afterwelt and imparting a substantially lesserdegree of stretchability thereto in a walewise direction.

5. A ladies seamless stocking comprising foot and leg portions, said legportion including a turned welt and an afterwelt having a plurality ofcomplete courses, each of said courses being formed of two yarns, saidafterwelt having a first group of wales extending around the frontportion and a second group of wales extending around the rear portion,plain stitches formed of both of said yarns and in all of said firstgroup of wales extending around the front portion of said afterwelt toimpart normal stretchability thereto, and special stitches formed ofboth of said yarns and in certain of said second group of wales andforming a regularly recurring pattern construction extending throughoutthe rear portion of said afterwelt to impart a substantially lesserdegree of stretchability thereto in both walewise and coursewisedirections, said special stitches including a held loop extending overseveral courses and being formed of both yarns, a fioat of one of saidyarns being formed in at least one of said several courses, and a tuckloop of the other of said yarns being formed in the course in which saidfloat is formed.

(References on following page) References Cited by the Examiner UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Carmer 66-182 X Katzemoyer 66--172 Nebel 66-169 Lockhead66-198 Martel 66-172 Crawford 66-178 Luhn 66-178 Snader 66-172 Herb66-172 Rabinovitz 66-172 Weller 66-172 Grey 66-172 Mahler 66-40 Bellman66-172 Wood et al 66-1-69 X Clarke 66-172 Matthews 66-172 Chaney 66-169Miles 66-178 FOREIGN PATENTS 10/ 1936 Great Britain.

Great Britain.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

RUSSELL C. MADER, Examiner.

1. A HOSIERY ARTICLE INCLUDING FOOT AND LEG PORTIONS, SAID LEG PORTION HAVING AN UPPER PORTION ADAPTED TO EXTEND ABOVE THE KNEE OF THE WEARER, A PLURALITY OF COMPLETE COURSES IN THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID LEG PORTION, SAID COMPLETE COURSES HAVING PLAIN STITCHES FORMED IN ALL OF A FIRST GROUP OF WALES EXTENDING AROUND THE FRONT OF SAID LEG PORTION TO IMPART A CERTAIN DEGREE OF STRETCHABILITY TO THE UPPER FRONT PORTION OF THE LEG PORTION, AND SAID COMPLETE COURSES HAVING CLOSELY SPACED STRETCH RESTRICTING SPECIAL STITCHES FORMED IN SELECTED WALES AND FORMING A REGULARLY RECURRING PATTERN CONSTRUCTION IN A SECOND GROUP OF WALES EXTENDING THROUGHOUT THE REAR OF SAID LEG PORTION, SAID PATTERN CONSTRUCTION CONSTRASTING WITH THE PLAIN FABRIC AROUND THE FRONT PORTION AND IMPARTING A SUBSTANTIALLY LESSER DEGREE OF STRETCHABILITY TO THE UPPER REAR PORTION OF THE LEG PORTION IN A WALEWISE DIRECTION. 